Pekanbaru, Riau. President Prabowo Subianto has ordered authorities to step up efforts to prevent forest and land fires from recurring, as a worsening outbreak across Sumatra and Kalimantan has burned more than 64,000 hectares, disrupted flights and schools and sent thick haze across communities.

Prabowo held a meeting on forest and land fire response at an advance command post in Riau on Monday after arriving in Pekanbaru to assess the situation and ensure firefighting efforts were being carried out quickly and in a coordinated manner.

The meeting was attended by Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, military chief Gen. Agus Subiyanto, police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Maruli Simanjuntak.

Teddy said Prabowo wanted to see the situation on the ground firsthand rather than rely solely on reports, while ensuring that government decisions were implemented quickly and effectively.

“The President wants to ensure that the response is carried through to completion, not just by receiving reports, but by seeing and hearing the situation firsthand, ensuring that the fire hotspots are truly extinguished and that all decisions are implemented quickly, in an integrated and appropriate manner,” Teddy said Monday.

He said Prabowo had also instructed local governments, the military and police to strengthen coordination to prevent fires from recurring.

“The President’s direction is clear: We cannot be busy extinguishing fires every year,” Teddy said.

The government plans to establish more permanent prevention measures in fire-prone areas, including drilling wells and building reservoirs to secure water supplies, maintaining permanent monitoring systems, improving early detection of fire hotspots and ensuring villages at high risk are prepared to respond.

Teddy said prevention efforts must begin before fires break out, with the aim of reducing the risk of recurring fires rather than focusing solely on extinguishing existing hotspots.

The push comes as forest and land fires worsen across several provinces in Sumatra and Kalimantan, disrupting flights and school activities while raising concerns over public health.

Forest and land fires have burned 64,341 hectares across Indonesia, with most of the affected areas concentrated in five provinces in Sumatra and Kalimantan, according to National Police data released Sunday.

Residents in affected areas have reported thick haze and a strong odor from peatland fires. Some said they had begun experiencing shortness of breath despite wearing masks to reduce their exposure to smoke.

Indonesia Forest and Land Fire Areas, 2015–2025

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